This Is My Spot
by licensedtobuild
Summary: Castle's POV from the scene in the airplane hangar in "Knockout." One-shot.


"Get her outta here, NOW," Montgomery snarled. I reached out for Kate's shoulder but she quickly shook it away.

"Captain, please, just listen to me. You don't have to do this."

"Kate –" I murmured, trying to calm her, but she pushed me away.

"No, please, no. Sir, I forgive you," she pleaded, and I could hear the pain in her voice. "I _forgive_ you." Montgomery closed his eyes, almost unwilling to stare at her.

"This is my spot, Kate," he whispered hoarsely. "This is where I stand." Kate shook her head.

"No." I could hear the tears through her cracked voice.

"Castle." He was trying to get me to take her but I couldn't move.

"No, NO, sir, please listen to me. You don't have to do this." I saw a black car driving towards us, and a jolt of panic shot through me.

"Castle, get her out of here NOW!" I could see the fear in Montgomery's eyes, and I knew immediately that this would be my last moment with the Captain I had come to trust and respect.

"You don't have to do this, sir. Please!" I wrapped my arms around Kate's waist, heaving her towards me. She fought to pull away, but I managed to lift her into the air, struggling against her flailing limbs. She was lighter than I had expected her to be. "No! God, Castle! Let me go! No!" She was trying to kick me, but I had her in my arms and sprinted as fast as I could out of the airplane hangar. As we got closer to the door, she let out a guttural, "Please!" and I could feel my heart breaking in my chest. It was the most raw and pained sound I had ever heard her make. She was sobbing and screaming in my arms, but I tried my best to ignore it as I pushed the door open and ran through it. As I ran into the cold air outside, I could feel Kate going limper in my arms. Her entire body was shuddering and she was sobbing loudly. I set her down once we got far enough from the building, and wrapped an arm around her shoulder as she struggled to keep herself upright. Tears were pouring down her cheeks and it killed me to know that there was nothing I could do about them. I still held most of her weight and steered her to a parked car. She fell against it, still repeating, "No," through her tears and sobs.

"Shhh, shhh," I kept telling her as I glanced over my shoulder, terrified that her sobs would attract the attention of the men that wanted to claim her life. Desperately, I pressed my hand over her mouth, and ran my hand through her hair. "Shhhhh. I'm sorry." I had no idea what else to say, even though I knew it wouldn't help in the slightest. "I'm sorry. Shhhh." She reached out to touch my cheek, and I could feel her slipping down the side of the car.

I stood in front of Kate for what felt like an hour, terrified that someone would come through the door and attempt to murder her. I kept stroking her hair, knowing that she twirled her hair whenever she got nervous. It seemed like the one thing that I could do for her. I could hear shouting from within the hangar and jumped when I heard six quick gunshots. Kate immediately tensed up and tried to push me back, but I held her against the car, my hand still pressed against her lips. She had stopped crying but was still hyperventilating, her chest heaving against me. The hangar was silent, before we heard two gunshots, followed shortly by another one, before the entire hangar went silent. I couldn't hear talking, and I must have loosened my grip on her because she shoved me away and started running for the door. I paused for a moment, steeling myself for what I was about to see, before I turned and walked after her. When I pushed open the door, I saw Kate kneeling next to Captain Montgomery on the floor, her face pressed against his. My heart broke at the sound of her gut-wrenching sobs, and I allowed myself the freedom to cry over the man I had called my teacher, and my friend.

I pulled out my phone quickly to text Ryan: "Airplane hangar. Bring ambulance." I felt horrible standing in the background and watching Kate mourn Roy. It felt like something I shouldn't have watched, but I couldn't leave Kate alone knowing that someone out there wanted her dead, so I remained in the background until I heard tires crunching outside. Kate must have been startled; she leapt to her feet, gun drawn and ready to take down anyone who came near her.

"Kate," I said quietly. She turned to face me, her eyes red even from a distance. I walked towards her. "I'm sorry." She shook her head at me and turned again to see the police cars and ambulance driving towards her. I put my hand on her shoulder and she lowered her gun. "Kate –" She shook her head again and tried to push away from me, but I held my grip and pulled her to me.

"Castle, let me go!" she shouted, her voice echoing through the hangar. I ignored her and pulled her into my chest. She collapsed into me, allowing me to squeeze her as tightly as I could, and began to sob again. I rubbed my hand up and down her back, feeling the tears burning my eyes again.

"Shh, Kate. It's okay," I whispered into her long dark hair, even though I knew in my heart of hearts that nothing would ever be okay again.


End file.
